Open bottom, floating top spring cushion chair or the like



Dec. 7, 1937. R, E. EATQN 2,101,054

OPEN BOTTOM, FLOATING TOP'SPRING CUSHION CHAIR OR THE LIKE INVENTOR. /of/zr f. faro/v,

BKM@ 552% ATTORNEYS,

Dec. 7, 1937. R. E. EATON 42,101,054

OPEN BOTTOM, FLOATING TOP SPRING CUSHION CHAIR OR THE LIKE Filed April 27, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 7, 1937 fxulnfrizn smrss PATENT oi-rlcc OPEN BOTTOM, FLOATENG IOP SPRING CUSHION CHAIR V@Rr-THE LIKE Robert E. Eaton, Burlington, Iowa, .assignor to `.Chittenden &Eastman Company, Burlington, Iowa, a corporation .Application April v2'7, 1935,.'Serial No. 18,524

7 Claims.

:This invention relates to a spring ystructure suitable for chairs, davenportsy settees, box springs, studio couches, studio davenports, .and

the like.

the retention in'a centralized .position prevention of movement of the top and the to any lmarked .degree in the plane of the top which would normally occurina free loatingtop structure.

Thechief feature of the invention consists in Ythe formation of the spring cushion structure as a unit whichmay bereadily secured at its lower portion, or portions, .to the frame-workand its intermediate portionsrso associated together and retained by the frame-work that the oating top of the cushion unit has the characteristics before set `forth.

Other features of the invention will be pointed out lmore fully hereinafter.

The full naturef the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings following description and claims:- n the drawings, Fig. 1 is a Vand the top plan view of a portion of the seat arrangement of a chair provided with rearwardly oiset arms and a back and adapted to support a T-shaped seat cushion in nested relation, the cushion being removed and the upholstered border and covering fabric being removed from a portion of the figure to illustrate in plan the detailed arrangement of the cushion unit comprising the seat cushion support and the method of anchoring the former to the chair frame.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the the arrows in Fig. 1 and in the direction thereof.

`Fig. .3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 and of a modified form of the invention.

vliig. 4 isya View similar to Fig. 2 and ofthe form of the invention shown in Fig. 3.

In the drawings it indicates the front rail, l I the rear or back rail, and i2 the connecting or side rails which are angularly directed inclined rearwardly toward each other.

A t each rear corneris positioned a leg and are I3 Vwhich Y extends upwardly and any conventional back structure may be associated therewith. Each front leg .I4 is .suitably associated with the adjacent front corner. Since the invention is illustrated as applied'to a chair, the adjacent ends Aof the frontandside rails are connected'by the triangular piece l5, the upper surface of which serves asa-support for the lower end of asma-ll double cone type cushion coil I`6. The lower turn oi lthis coil thus is suitably'anchored as at iti).

:suitably secured inwardly of each side rail and by triangularbrace members Il, is `an arm post :I8 which extends upwardly from the side rail and .at its upper end may be joined to a cross member (not shown) which in turn is suitably supported at the fopposite end by the rear leg or an extension thereof. This forms the frame-work for a rearwardly offset and upholstered arm` structure and such an arm structure is indicated' by the Vnumeral I9 in Fig. l. Reference will'now be had to the main connection of `the cushion unit to the chairV frame. Herein there are 'illustrated three substantially parallel-strapsii)'and each has its` front end curled as indicated 7at'f2l, to form a pivot pin socket. Afplate22 is suitably secured by screws -23,`or-thelike, tof the inside of the front rail and includes a pair of spacedsockets 24. A hinge pin lfmay or may not be lprovided with the angular portion l25 :bracket .22 yto the strapi). Herein the opposite end of ithe strapterminatesa short distance vfrom the rear rail vI land eachl corner is provided with an v'aperture 421'which seats one end 28 of a small Ahelical 29.

A bracket `30, herein identical to bracket 22, is similarly' secured as at `3l to the inside of the rear rail. ".Twolloops 32 thereon in the present instance, are shown spaced apart axially Va disltance equal vto thekwidthrof the strap 2E). Each helical'ilhas its opposite end 33 engaged in one 'of the Vloopsofthe rear bracket and by reason of this spacing and as "shown clearly in Fig. 1, the two .helicalsconnected to each strap are arranged in diverging relation and thus the endof the strap is tensioned against s ide sway in a direction transverse to the Ilongitudinal axis of the strap. vThese helicals permit the metal strap 2&3 to not-onlyrmove downwardly as a unit butv the 'metal strap is ofsuch character that it also will slightlyiflex.

It will be observedsee Fig. l-that the spacing ofthe strapsis such that each end strap is considerably remote from the side rail and is notparallel thereto 1,but the straps are parallel andr pivotallyconnects the plate ory to each other. Thus, this type of structure is readily adapted to various upholstered furniture forms.

Suitably secured to each strap, as illustrated in the copending application, Serial No. 755,264, led November 30, 1934, entitled Spring cushion construction, of Roy S. Jones,fwhich became Patent No. 2,051,087, issued Aug. 18, 1936 are a plurality of longitudinally aligned cushion coil springs of double conical character. These coil springs in the present disclosure, see Figs. l and 2, are indicated by the numeral Q35 and iffdesired, a silencing strip E36 secured by clips I3?, to the strap may also be employed.

Any other suitable method of mounting the coil springs on the strap, orany means of coil spring support other than a strap may be employed, or any other suitable method of attaching the strap, if utilized, or other means of support to the frame may be employed.

The cushion coils in tandem relation intermediate the top and bottom may be suitably secured together as by a clip 36. which consists of a single length of wire havingits free ends turned back upon themselves in embracing relation relative to the adjacent portion of the cushion coil springs as at 31. The upper turn of each coil spring may, if desired, be associated with the next lower turn at the end of the former, as by the knotting 38. The cushion coil springs of adjacent rows may be associated together by similar clips 39, the ends 49 of each being turned back as shown in Fig. 1. The upper turns of the cushion coil springs of adjacent pairs in adjacent rows may be united by crossed helicals 4l, theends 42 of which are merely turned back afterV embracing the upper turn.

A border wire 43 is suitably secured to each of the outermost portions of the border cushion coils and at the top turn of the same and by the clips 44. The border wire is continuous and is relatively free Yfrom any other vconnection thereby forming what may be termed a floating top. There thus results a semi-rigid top structure for the. spring unit construction.

In Fig. 1 inasmuch as a T-shaped structurels illustrated, the border wire includesat each forward corner a laterally extending portion 45 clipped as at 45 to the uppermost turn of the corner spring IB. The forwardmost cushion coil 35 and the spring I6 at their adjacent tangential upper turns are secured together by the clip 4l. The clips 46 and 47 are similar to the clips 44.

To insure considerable additional rigidity in the top of the spring cushion unit, a partition reenforcing border wire element 48 is provided, having U-shaped ends 49 secured by clips 5i] to the main border wire at opposite ends of the former. Clips 50 are likewise similar to clips 44. If desired, each of the cushion coil springs 35 adjacent and tangential to the auxiliary partition reenforcing border wire 48 may be similarly clipped together as at i. It is to be understood the helicals 4l lie slightly below the partition wire 48.

To prevent side to side and/or front to back sway of the floating cushion top structure, each of the appropriate cushion coils adjacent the respective `rail may be anchored thereto. The cushion is prevented against side sway by being suitably connected to an intermediate lower turn of a cushion coil at 52 to a chain or similar tying member 53, the other end of which is secured to an anchoring plate 54, suitably secured as at 55 to the side rail l2. A similar chain structure,

cushion is substantially T-shaped.

indicated by the numeral 56, is suitably secured to the anchor 5l secured to the back rail ll as at 58. Whenever desired or required, additional secondary chains may be connected to these anchorages and connected in turn at the opposite ends to other turns of the same cushion coils and herein numeral 59 indicates said additional chains. Also, the cushion construction may be suitably tied by a forward anchorage or anchorages of similar character 55. It is to be clearly understood that these chains have no function in the sense that they hold the cushion coil or any portion thereof in a relatively compressed relation. They serve primarily as ties to prevent swaying.

It will be noted the chains to the front and rear marginal cushion coils are connected to the latter at a level below the connections between the marginal side cushion coils and the side rails. The auxiliary chain ties, if utilized, are connected to the marginal side cushion coils at approximately the same level as the front and rear chain ties. By reason of the way the views are illustrated in the drawings but one additional chain tie 59 is illustrated clearly and it is intentionally shown slightly offset from the chain tie 53. In plan elevation these chain ties 59 do not appear since they are superimposed by the chain ties 53 in the said figures.

A fabric having the front portion 5| suitably secured to the lower edge of the front rail or to the inside thereof adjacent the lower edge, overlaps the forward face thereof and passes upwardly over the forward border wire as at 62, then extends as at 53 across the top of the semi-rigid floating top and then extends over the rear border wire as at 64 and thence downwardly and rearwardly as at 65 and overlaps the exposed face of the rear rail El and is suitably secured to the underface or edge of the rear rail or to the inside face thereof adjacent the lower edge as desired.

superimposed upon the aforesaid covering and associated therewith may be auxiliary padding or upholstery. Herein GS indicates a bat which may be of cotton, palm libre, cocoanut fibre, or other suitable material, that is positioned between the portion 53 or tcp cover, and an auxiliary top El, upon which rests an integral seat cushion 68. The latter is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2 and is entirely omitted in Fig. l. This seat A suitable amount of padding material ES is interposed between the front portion Si of the main cover ma.

terial and the exposed auxiliary front cover material li?. The latter is looped as at 'H and secured in said loop is a bead forming material l2 in the form of a heavy cord, or the like.

The auxiliary front cover material 'l0 after forming the loop is extended upwardly and outwardly and thence downwardly and rearwardly as at 13, and is secured as at 'ifi to the top 53 with the auxiliary top 5l. Included within this loop 73 is a relatively rigid yet semi-iexible edge construction 75. The latter may be formed of palm fibre, cocoanut nbre, or other suitable material, enclosed within burlap and suitably padded with a sufficient amount of padding. This forms the relatively rigid yet flexible projecting forward edge indicated at 'l5 in Fig. l and the depressed pocket forming portion il also indicated therein. The dotted lines in the upper left hand portion of Fig. 2 illustrates how this semirigid border structure projects outwardly when the seat cushion 68 is positioned thereon.

From the foregoing it will be noted that there amigos@ is formed a spring cushion istructurewhicheliminates the use of all springV anchoring, supporting or sustaining webbing except that employed as a silencing strip yso that the entire structure is freely exposed' from the bottom for cleaning or repair purposes.

Also, there results` from theafo-resaid construction a mechanical arrangement which has every advantage of. a mechanical spring. cushion unit in that it does not create: lint, or the like, in its use, may be readily cleaned, isreadily. accessible for repair purposes and is not rigid 'like the usual mechanical spring structures but it does embody, on the contrary, all the advantages of flexibility inherent in. a web typefmounted spring cushion arrangement.

`As illustrated in Fig. 1, each of thezupperturns of the. forward cushion coils 35 is not a. true circle but is deformed iorwardlyin an elliptic for-1 When such a front curvature ,is desired, it is toA be understood the border Wire and the portions indicated at 13, conform to the desired outline and that the top turns of the forwardmostv cushion coils are extended beyond that indicated at 80, soas to still maintain contact through the clips with the border wire. In each instance, of course, the seat cushion diagrammatically indicated at 68, would have a correspondingly formed front contour.

It will also be observed that theV cushion unit, in each instance where a back is utilized in the chair, or the like, terminates short of the rear rail. The back upholstering terminates as indicated at 85. Similarly, when, upholstered arms are provided, as indicated at I9, the cover fabric is inclined downwardly and outwardly toward the side rails to which it is similarly secured and the intervening space nests, as it were, the arm upholstering and this isV possible becausethe side and rear portions rof the border wire in a oonstruction of this character, lies within the project-ed outline of the side and rear rails. It isv usually desirable to have the front border wire, or at least certain portions of it, substantiallycoincide with the projection of the front rail.

It will also be noted that the front border wire is positioned considerably forwardly of the connection 14 indicated in the figures. In certain instances, if and when desired or requiredY in Figs. 3. and-i,V there is illustrated a. mouiedv formoffthefiinvention and this-form of the invention diflersiinuseveral;respects from that illustratedfin Figs; 1 and 12,. to wit, the overhangingfbeadedforwardedge of theseat structure is fomitted. Instead-.of the seat structure being of.` T-shap-ed'butline, it is of arcuate or bowed outline: Also', modified forms of` tying the several .springs of theunit to theframe and remote from the top of the former are different from thatillustrated-finFigs. 1 and 2, and the latter, ifl and'` when desired, includes an adjustable mounting fory frame anchoring connection.

Unlessotherwse notednumerals of the series similar to numeralsapplied to Figs. 1 and 2,.'arei employed. to designate similar parts in Figs.: 3.1and4; Inv view; thereof, no specific description ineed. be repeated-but only; the departuresfrom the formof the invention shown in Figs. l'and 2.:willrbe-specied.

In this form ofthe invention, all the coils |35 are illustrated; as beingv of like character. The border wire-|43 is suitably secured wherever tangent to one or moreof the coils by the clips |44;v Theiforward portion-of the border wire is bowed outwardly and the intermediate reenforcing wire `|48 is-suitably secured to the border wire fore and aft as by clips |50, the ends of said wire being turned back as at |49. In this form an additional auxiliary border Wire 202 may be employed, which is suitably associated with ,the border wire* |43 andis` connected-to the tangential coils |35 by the clips 244.

Resting. on the' front rail |I0 are a plurality,

'althoughonly oneV is shown, of auxiliary coils ||6 which, if desired, maybe and preferably are, anchored bystaples, or the like, to the front rail as-in-dicated at 2|0'. It-is to` be understood that the-coil Hi-rnaybe` similarly secured, if desired. The coil is suitably secured by clips |46 and 246- tothe fore portion of the border wire |43 and@ the auxiliary) transverse reenforcing wire Thezseveral coils |35-may be arranged in tandem and spaced row relation and suitably connected together as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 or as illustrated in r Figs. 1 and 2. The coils are suitably securedy to the. straps |20 and silenced thereon and said straps may be mounted on the-frontandback rai-Isl I0 and respectively', in the same` manner as previously set forth forv straps-35see- Figs. 1 vand 2.

The frarneof this chair differs slightly from that shownin Figs. l and 2, in that an auxiliary side rail'2l10l is provided and this is positioned approximatelyr in the plane of the border wiresee Fig. 4.- It is so broken away in Fig. 3 to illustratea modified form of anchorage.

In Figs. 3 and 4, each of the anchorages from the side rail to the immediately adjacent coil |35 consists ofthe chain portion |53 connected at one end to a spring or small helical 20|, in turn connected at 254 to the plate |54 secured to the side; rail. ||2 as at |55. A comparison of the several anchoragesin Fig. 3 with those in Fig. l Willfdisclose that each plate |54 is provided with a purality of openings 254, anyone of which may be associated with the end of the small helical 20|. The purpose of the provision of these several openings 254 in each plate is that it provides for perfect adjustment, since the chain may be part any tension or lateral stress upon the coil |35, if it is not laterally displaced. If laterally displaced, then this anchorage or tie becomes operative to oppose undue lateral or side sway. This insures substantially predetermined positioning of the border wire and top of the cushion unit unless displaced by the person sitting thereon and such displacement is thereupon resisted by such tying connections.

The right hand portion of Fig. 4 and the lower right hand portion of Fig. 3 illustrates a modified form of anchorage which may, if desired, be employed in the side rail tying connections and/o1' the front rail tying connections.

This type of anchorage includes the plate |51 secured to the back rail as at |58. A small helical 251 has has one end connected to said plate in the usual manner and the other end is herein shown connected to two vertically diverging chain constructions. 256 indicates the lower directed chain connected at one end to the coil |35 and at its upper and rearward end to the helical 251. |55 indicates a chain which is connected at its upper end to a superposed turn of the coil 35 to which the lower end of chain 255 is connected, and the lower end of chain |56 is connected to the helical 251. If desired, a single length of chain may constitute the chains |56 and 256 and the adjacent end of the small helical 251 may be associated with the appropriate intermediate link in the aforesaid single length of chain.

The remainder of the parts illustrated and indicated by numerals, correspond to similar parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Whenever it is desired to prevent the end rows of springs, when upholstered, from pulling in toward the center, additional and transversely arranged auxiliary border wire means may be provided, see Figs. 3 and 4. In said iigures, wires 248 are suitably secured in tangential relation to the coils by clips 25|. The U-shaped ends 249 are secured to the adjacent border Wire by clips 256.

This insures vertical axial compression and expansion of the coils which prevents noise or clicking in the coils in the several Springs which occurs when the coils are canted.

While the invention has been described in great detail in the foregoing specication, the same is to be considered illustrative of the invention and not restrictive in character, since it is well recognized that various modiiications thereof will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, and as heretofore pointed out, certain features herein illustrated, may be omitted, for example, the silencing strip or for example, in place of two divergingly directed helicals constituting a rear connection for each strap, a single centrally positioned helical may be employed, or two substantially parallel helicals may be employed. Preferably, however, the two diverging helicals are utilized. Also, certain of the clips, such as indicated at 39 and at 3B, may be omitted, if and when desired, as well as the auX- iliary chains 59.

The invention claimed is:-

1. In a chair or the like structure including a peripheral frame of rails, in combination a spring unit including top border wire means, a plurality of cushion coils arranged in rows and in tandem relation in each row, a resilient bottom support structure for the coils suitably secured at opposite ends to a pair of opposed rails, said coils having their lower portions nested within the frame,

said border wire means and top turns of the coilsA being operatively interconnected, and means independent of the bottom and connecting certain marginal coils to the frame to prevent undue swaying of the top of the unit, said means including a downwardly and frame directed metallic exible connection from one turn of a coil toward the adjacent rail, and an upwardly and frame directed metallic exible connection from a lower turn of the same coil toward the same rail, said metallic connections lying in substantially the same vertical plane, and another metallic ilexible connection at one end connecting together the frame directed ends of the other metallic connections and connected at its opposite end to the said rail.

2; In a chair or the like structure including a peripheral frame of rails, in combination a spring unit including top border wire means, a plurality of cushion coils arranged in rows and in tandem relation in each row, a resilient bottom support structure forthe coils suitablyl secured at opposite ends to a pair of opposed rails, said coils having their lower portions nested within the frame, said border wire means and top turns of the coils being operatively interconnected, and means independent oi the bottom and connecting certain marginal coils to the frame to prevent undue swaying of the top of the unit, said means being of ilexible metallic character and including a plate anchorage for each means and secured to the ad-V jacent rail and provided with a plurality of anchoring portions spaced differently from the rail for selective connection of the ilexible metallic means to one of the portions.

3. In a chair or likestructure including a peripheral frame of rails, in combination a spring unit including top border wire means, a plurality oi cushion coils arranged in rows and in tandem relation in each row, a resilient bottom support structure for the coils suitably secured at opposite ends to a pair of opposed rails, said coils having their lower portions nested within the frame, means independent of the bottom and connecting certain of the coils to the frame to prevent undue swaying of the top of the unit, said border wire means and top turns of the coils being operatively interconnected, a brace member at each forward corner of the frame, an auxiliary coil spring resting thereon, said border wire means having a lateral extension registering therewith, and means connecting at a plurality oi locations the outermost portion of the upper turn of the adjacent auxiliary spring to the lateral extension of the border wire means.

4. In a chair or like structure including a peripheral frame of rails, in combination a spring unit including top border wire means, a plurality of cushion coils arranged in rows and in tandem relation in each row, a resilient bottom support structure for the coils suitably secured at opposite ends to a pair of opposed rails, said coils having their lower portions nested within the frame, means independent of the bottom and connecting certain of the coils to the frame to prevent undue swaying of the top of the unit, said border wire means and top turns of the coils being operatively interconnected, said border wire means having portions projecting forwardly at least as far as the front rail, and a plurality of auxiliary springs, each supported at its lower end by the iront rail, and having its upper end terminating in the plane of the border wire means and rigidly secured to the latter.

5. In a chair or like structure including a peripheral frame of rails, in combination a spring unit including top border wire means, a plurality of cushion coils arranged in rows and in tandem relation in each row, a resilient bottom support structure for the coils suitably secured at opposite ends to a pair of opposed rails, said coils having their lower portions nested within the frame, means independent of the bottom and connecting certain of the coils to the frame to prevent undue swaying of the top of the unit, said border wire means and top turns of the coils being operatively interconnected, said border wire means having portions projecting forwardly at least as far as the frontrail, and aplurality of auxiliary springs, each supported at its lower end by the front rail', and having its upper end terminating in the plane of the border wire means and rigidly secured to the latter, said auxiliary springs being positioned between the side portions of the border wire means and the forward portion of the border wire means projecting forwardly beyond the front rail.

6. In a chair or like structure including a peripheral frame of rails, in combination a spring unit including top border wire means, a plurality of cushion coils arranged in rows and in tandem relation in each row, a resilient bottom support structure for the coils suitably secured at opposite ends to a pair of opposed rails, said coils having their lower portions nested within the frame, means independent of the bottom and connecting certain of the coils to the frame to prevent undue swaying of the top of the unit, said border wire j means and top turns of the coils being operatively interconnected, said border wire means having portions projecting forwardly at least as far as the front rail, and a plurality of auxiliary springs,

each supported at its lower end by the front rail, and having its upper end terminating in the plane of the border wire means and rigidly secured to the latter, said auxiliary springs being positioned between the side portions of the border wire means, the forward portion of the border wire means projecting forwardly beyond the front rail and being regularly arched from one side portion to the other.

7. In a chair or like structure, including, a peripheral frame of rails, in combination a spring unit including top border wire means, a plurality of cushion coils arranged in rows and in tandem relation in each row, a resilient bottom support for the coils and secured at opposite ends to a pair of opposed rails, said coils having their lower portions nested within the frame and their upper portions projecting an appreciable distance above the top plane of the frame, metallic and ilexible means independent of the bottom and connecting certain of the turns of the coils, appreciably below the top turns, to the frame to prevent unit swaying of the top of the unit, said border wire means and top turns of the coils being operatively interconnected, the top turns of all coils except the forward marginal coils lying within an area defined by upward projections of the rails, the front of the border wire means substantially overlapping portions of the front rail and the forward marginal coils connected thereto having their top turns extended forwardly substantially as and for the purpose set forth, portions of the top turns and front border means projecting materially beyond the upward projection of the front rail.

ROBERT E. EATON. 

